Hitler Hates Michael Bay's Transformers

There's been an Internet meme going around for a while now of a clip from the German film Downfall of Hitler going into a rant to his highest ranking officers, only with the English subtitles changed into him complaining every day American problems. Hitler has complained about his X-Box Live account being banned, having to go see crappy Adam Sandler movies, and, my personal favorite, Valve working on Left 4 Dead 2 without releasing new content for the original game like they promised.

With the release of the horribly reviewed Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen this past week, I figured this video of Hitler ranting against Michael Bay for ruining the Transformers film franchise was pretty topical. Plus, it's really funny. He even rants against Steven Spielberg (a producer on these "films') and takes some shots at Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Watch the video at the top of this article. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

New Trailer Round Up

There have been some interesting looking trailers to some movies I have been anticipating that were released recently. I've decided to round them up and give my two cents on them all.



Up first is the latest trailer for Quentin Tarantino's WWII epic Inglourious Basterds. The trailer mostly follows the story of the "basterds," whom I'm told the movie does not focus on all that much (a character named Shosanna Dreyfus is actually the main character of the movie; she can be seen in small glimpses in this trailer). With that said, the movie looks like it's going to be a blast. It almost has an Ocean's Eleven feel to it in a strange way... except that it's filled with Nazi's and people who want to brutally murder them. Also, I loved the shot of the burning theater screen at the end.

However, I'm not exactly sold on the casting of Mike Myers (kind of distracting). Also, what's up with that weird punch Eli Roth delivers? 

This aside, I cannot wait for this movie. It's probably my most anticipated film of this summer.

The next trailer is for Rob Zombie's Halloween II (it appears they've ditched the H2 title and thank God because it was stupid to begin with). This trailer is a lot more focused than the last one and actually gives a hint to the structure of the story. There is a lot more of focus on the connection between Laurie and Michael instead of the whole "dead Mrs. Myers ghost visions" that filled up the last trailer. I liked this aspect a lot more than the aforementioned section of the previous trailer. Even though this movie has a huge potential to be really bad (as most people did not like Zombie's original remake to begin with), I can't help but be a little excited about it. It looks a lot more like a Rob Zombie film than his last effort at the Halloween franchise. It kind of looks like he just went crazy with this and did whatever he wanted. I feel like it will make an insane film experience (for example, what's up with that image of that kid with a rotting pumpkin on his head?). Plus, it looks like Michael's super pissed in this and is going to kill a hell of a lot of people.

So yeah, I guess I'm in.

I have been looking forward to Richard Kelly's film adaptation of The Box for some time. Based on the short story by Richard Matheson, The Box follows a suburban family pressed for cash who receive a mysterious box on their doorstep. If they press a button on the box, they will receive one million dollars but a stranger somewhere in the world will die. It's a great concept but I'm not exactly happy with the way the trailer is cut. It's sold more as a heart-stopping thriller (complete with the now over-used Saw end theme) than as the moral drama I hear that it actually is. Also, I'm a little wary of Richard Kelly these days. I was hoping that this would be his return to form after the absolute disaster that was Southland Tales but there are hints in this trailer that it may not be. Still, I hope that it is. I loved Donnie Darko from start to finish but it's getting more likely that that may have been his only good film. Also, I'm not a big fan of Cameron Diaz and I'm afraid she may hold the film down. Still, it's got some cool things going for it. Frank Langella is always awesome (and his face is looking like it's going to look terrible in this), I like the 70's retro feel and the concept is still pretty cool. Overall, I'm looking forward to this but I'm not completely sold yet.

So that ends my trailer round up. I hope you all are interested in seeing these films as well. 

Source: Trailer Addict

A Review of Bully

*Note: I realize I just wrote an article the other day saying I was going to shorten my reviews due to time constraints. However, after watching this film, I found myself oddly wanting to talk a lot about it. So, in this case, the review will be a little lengthy. Just don't expect this length for all of my future reviews*

I've been avoiding director Larry Clark's movies for some time now. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Clark is a controversial photographer turned director who has been putting out disturbing and raw pieces of cinema such as Kids, Ken Park and Bully for years now. Many critics and viewers have accused Clark of being pornographic at times (particularly due to his depiction of teenage sex in Bully) and actress Bijou Philips was very unhappy at Clark's predatory direction and his out-of-the-blue shots of her crotch that appeared in the final cut of the aforementioned film. Still, despite these criticisms, his films have been praised for their unforgiving looks at some truly unsettling aspects of teenagers in modern America.

This past week I decided to bite the bullet and give one of Clark's films a shot. I found the premise of Bully the most intriguing so I gave it a shot. I have to say-- it was one of the most disturbing and unenjoyable film experiences of my life. With this said, it was still quite a powerful film experience that I've only come close to obtaining once before (during the viewing of Requiem for a Dream). By the end of the movie, I felt sick to my stomach and off. To be honest, I kind of hated the world and the kind of people that live in it. That's the kind of movie experience Bully is. It will just turn you inside out and make you hate everything and everyone. But it also made me thankful for my own upbringing and the kind of people that I can call my friends.

Bully tells the real life story of the murder of Bobby Kent, who was killed in Weston, Florida by his best friend Marty Puccio, Jr. and six other teenagers. Despite appearing to be a stand-up citizen and a decent student, Kent frequently bullied Marty both physically and mentally. He not only raped Marty's girlfriend Lisa Connelly but beat and raped Lisa's friend Alice Slay while forcing her to watch gay pornography. Eventually, Lisa talked Marty into killing Kent. On July 15, 1993, Lisa, Marty, Alice and four other teens (most of whom barely knew Kent) lured their victim out into a remote rock pit and brutally murdered him. All the teens were caught soon after and sentenced to various prison sentences. Three are still in prison serving life sentences (Marty Puccio, Donald Semenec and Derek Kaufman).

As one can see, Bully deals with some pretty disturbing real life events. The movie that unfolds is equally as disturbing. The first half of this movie was nearly unwatchable. It basically just consists of many sequences of graphic teenage sex, teenagers bumming around and various means of humiliation and physical torture performed by Kent. As unenjoyable as the first half of the film was, it did serve a point to show just how awful Kent could be and how most of these kids were basically worthless human beings to begin with. Still, some of Clark's voyeuristic takes on their sexuality was a little much at times.

As the film kicks into its second act (which consists of the kids plotting to murder Kent and then following through), things get a little more interesting. It's really bizarre to see a bunch of teens plan out a brutal murder at a local Pizza Hut but there's also something strangely disturbing about it. There were a lot of sequences in this part of the film that really took me back. The scene where the kids meet with the wannabe hitman (played by an amazing Leo Fitzpatrick, a future member of the cast of The Wire) to discuss exactly how they're going to kill Bobby was really interesting. The fact that most of them really don't understand the severity of the situation they are getting into was very eye opening. I also liked how Clark seemed to comment on the fact that the parents of these teens were completely non-responsive to all the warning signs of their children's behavior. This murder could have been completely avoided if just one of them acted but most of them were completely blind to how bad things were getting with their children. 

The murder scene is one of the most graphic and tense sequences I've seen on film. In reality, Bobby Kent was stabbed multiple times, had his throat slit, his head crushed with a baseball bat and then, still clinging to life, was drowned in a swamp. Clark follows the real life fate of Kent and shows most of this on screen. The sequence is filled with confusion, certain kids becoming horrified and chickening out while others turn into monsters and rip Kent apart. The way it's filmed feels very real and is truly a disturbing thing to see unfold. If you want, you can watch the scene here. Just don't say I didn't warn you though-- it's very graphic. 

As the film comes to close, Clark poses many questions to the viewer. It's really hard to decide who was to blame for this awful crime. Was it the parents' fault? Did Bobby have it coming to him? As bad as Bobby Kent seems, Marty Puccio seems just as explosive and horrible at times. Most of the people involved in the crime are people who contribute nothing to society and commit murder just because they really don't have anything better to do. The wannabe hitman joins in because he dreams of becoming a viscous killer one day but at the time being only runs a gang of impressionable juveniles. Literally everyone that appears in this film is incredibly pathetic and it's really just hard to pick sides and decide who's right. In the end, it's nobody.

 

The acting in the film is quite impressive. Nick Stahl makes Bobby Kent seem like a monster at times but also somewhat vulnerable too. He makes the kid really hard to figure out and that makes his brutal murder much harder to watch. Brad Renfro really scared me as Marty Puccio. At times, he almost seemed more out of control than Kent (like when he finds out Lisa is pregnant) and generally a disturbed person. It was hard to feel sorry for his character at times because of this. Rachel Miner makes Lisa Connelly out to be delusional, paranoid and almost as scary as Marty and Bobby. However, Leo Fitzpatrick is the standout in the cast as the wannabe hitman. Fitzpatrick is so self assured and full of himself and his ability to kill that it is kind of comical at times. There's just something unique about his performance. He almost makes you feel like you've meet this guy before somewhere.

Clark's direction is off and on for me in this movie. Although he can make an incredibly tense scene (see the murder scene), the film lacks a visual style of any kind for the movie. When he does try to inject style into the film, it's distracting and seems sloppy (like the scene where he continuously turns his camera in a circle around the teens). I also hated when he seemed to get creepy and voyeuristic with his female cast members (as I have already mentioned). However, he gets some pretty incredible performances out of his ensemble of actors. I also thought his use of Fat Boy Slim's "Song for Shelter" over the ending courtroom scene and the subsequent sentencing images was incredibly haunting (you can see this sequence here if you like). Clark's lack of style also works to make the film seem more real, causing the horrible things that happen have even more impact. 

In the end, it's really hard to rate a movie like Bully. It's one of the least entertaining movies that I've ever watched and it honestly made me feel a little sick afterwards. With that said, I don't regret watching it. It helped put me into a situation that is really hard to understand from the outside. It made me see some really useless human beings living pointless lives that were ruined further by making decisions that could have easily been avoided. As horrible as it was to witness all of this, it was strangely fascinating as well. I cannot recommend watching this for anyone who is remotely squeamish or easily upset but, if you have the stomach and want to be put right into the shoes of horrible people, you may want to give this a shot. I can pretty much guarantee that you will get something powerful out of the film experience but you will most likely never want to watch it again.

6/10

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

For those of you who live under a rock, Michael Jackson died of a heart attack yesterday. Even though I wouldn't consider myself a fan of his music per say, I have to recognize how huge of a blow this is to not only to the music industry but pop culture itself. There probably isn't anyone on this planet who doesn't know who Michael Jackson is. And despite the fact that his life has been a freak show / train wreck for about ten years, it's really strange to think that he's gone.

Anyways, many of you may be asking: why are you talking about this on a movie blog? Well, as far as I'm concerned, Jackson reshaped the music video in the 1980's with his video for Thriller. It was this video that set the bar for what a music video could be and what all could be achieved in it. The man basically put MTV on the map before it turned into an abyss of terrible reality television. Jackson's music videos were always above what one expected from a music video. Jackson set out to make short films and worked with huge directors such as John Landis and Martin Scorsese (see their video for "Bad" here). 

Last night, his death caused MTV to shut down regular programming and play Jackson's videos all night long. Yes, that's right: music videos were finally played on MTV again. It's a shame that something like this has to happen for the channel to do what it's meant to do to begin with. The long version of Thriller was played a few times and, after re-watching it, I really have to admire the hell out of it.

Think about how cool this video is. First off, it's directed by John Landis fresh off the success of his horror film An American Werewolf in London (and well before his tragic run on Twilight Zone: The Movie). It features a classic, gothic horror feel that's absent from most horror movies today. It has special effects from Rick Baker (who won an Oscar for his work on An American Werewolf in London). It has both werewolves and zombies. It features the voice of Vincent freakin' Price. It contains lots of Landis inside jokes such as the line "See you next Wednesday" (it was the name of the porn that was screened in An American Werewolf in London) and posters in the background for films such as Schlock. Lastly, it has a pretty classic twist ending that's kind of creepy.

Yeah, there's a horror fan boy in me that wants to go "zombies don't dance" and I still am confused on how Jackson seems to flip back and forth between his normal self and his zombie form. Also, I have to laugh at the fact that Jackson really seems to be into the horror movie at the beginning and the girl isn't. I don't know why but this image is just really funny to me because his voice is so high. But really-- who cares. This video is awesome and it's better than anything that MTV produces today. 

Watch the long version of the video below in HD and see just how awesome Jackson was back in his hey-day.

Independent Film of the Week #4: Sofia's People

This is a new article series that I would like to start on YDKS Movies called Independent Film of the Week. In this series, I would like to showcase an independent film that I enjoy for all of you to discover. I have been watching a lot of these on Vimeo in the past few days and it has really inspired me to make something new myself other than the Bags and Boards series I have been working on (though don't get me wrong, I'm still going to be making Bags and Boards throughout the summer). 

This week's entry is called Sofia's People from director Philip Bloom. The film is mostly made to show the kind of image and focus that one can achieve with a Canon 5dmk2 24p camera. All the footage in this film was taken right out of the camera without any kind of color correction or digital manipulation. The result is really quite beautiful. Bloom just went out onto the streets and got various shots of inhabitants of the city and its visitors. Although the video lacks any kind of story, it still manages to be fascinating to watch due to the kinds of people and images that Bloom manages to capture. I just like watching this. I'm still not sure why. Hopefully, you all will as well. 

So Here's the Deal...

As you, the dedicated reader, may have noticed lately, my writing for the site has become quite sparse over the past few weeks. There are various reasons for this. I have working to create to create episodes for my web series Bags and Boards. This has really absorbed a lot of my time. It's basically become a job but one in which I do not get paid for (with this said, I'm not really complaining. I enjoy it; it's just really time-consuming is all). I have also been preparing for various other film jobs: a television commercial for Heroes and Dreams (which I am beginning work on right after Episode III of Bags and Boards), a fairly daunting video to open Welcome Week for my college, a possible furniture commercial, another paid film job for my college and, last but not least, another personal film project that I have been trying to get off the ground for some time (Young, Awkward and Stupid). 

Another thing that's really taken up a lot of my time has been my first "relationship" of sorts. Though you may not technically be able to call it a relationship, I was seeing someone exclusively (which constitutes a relationship? I'm still not sure. I just know that relationship is a scary word for a lot of people. Still not sure why) and, since it was my first time around, I put a lot of time into it. It's been a very rewarding, often scary but altogether exciting experience. Nonetheless, as of last night, it came to an end that's been about two weeks in the making. I'm not that depressed about this. I'm going to miss it a lot but it's just one of those things that had to happen I guess. Still, I have to recognize that this really has taken up a lot of my time and, because of this, I have neglected this place more than usual (though I'm not sure if I can fully apologize for this-- after all, I'd much rather be cuddling up with a beautiful girl than geeking out over some movie on here. Sorry guys. I'm just built this way). 

Anyways, I was out late Monday night eating some incredibly unhealthy appetizers and desserts at Applebees (a plug?) with some of my closest friends (Caleb, Guy and Seth) when one of them asked me about YDKS. I hadn't written in a week and they were wondering if I was done with the place. At that moment, I kind of thought I was. Even though I'm not the only writer here (Jason, my co-founder still writes every now and then and Amanda Leigh, our newest addition to the site, has been putting up articles recently), I do kind of feel like I run this place at times. Being obsessive compulsive, I really took it upon myself to update this place at an unhealthy rate last summer and most of the fall. To run a movie blog by oneself is a pretty difficult thing to do and I kind of have to come to terms that I really cannot do that.

Still, I find myself resist at leaving. After all, this place is kind of my baby. And, for some reason, we do actually have regular readers here (and God bless them). I can't just let all of that go, can I? With this said, I have recognized a need for some change on my part in order for me to continue with a realistic life schedule. 

So here's what I had in mind.

From here on out, I will be changing up my writing style. I will be doing shorter, more cohesive reviews. My reviews have always been a daunting task for me because they've always been so damn long (for a reference, go here and here). It's because of this that I've put off reviews of Star Trek, Terminator Salvation, Drag Me to Hell, Up, and The Hangover for so long. So, if I do review a film on here, do not expect a review of my usual length anymore. I hope to hit all of the same points that I usually do but I just need to give myself more of a break when it comes to these. 

Many people have asked me, "What's happened to Bruce Lee Month?" Well, it's cancelled. I'm sorry. I know a lot of people enjoyed the teaser I did but it's just not going to happen. I thought about stretching it to "Bruce Lee Summer" but the fact is I just have too many damn film projects this summer to take care of already. So, it hurts me to say that it just won't be happening anymore. Perhaps I'll attempt it again sometime in the future. I do apologize for this. 

Another thing is that I just cannot guarantee a post everyday like I used to do in the past. I have made a lot of changes in my life in the past few months and the way I live it. I am trying very hard to give myself enough breathing room so I won't get overwhelmed like I did this past fall. So, with this in mind, I just cannot spend all my time writing here. I have to focus on my filmmaking, school work and my personal life.

So this is what I kind of had in mind. I just felt the need to let you all know why I had not been writing as much as usual and what plans I had (if any) for the future of this site. I really care for YDKS a lot and I feel like I've really achieved some cool stuff with this place. I'm proud of a lot of the articles I've written and a lot of the positive feedback I've received. So if you're one of the people who continue to check this place out-- thank you. Really. I will do my best to not let myself get too tied up again. But just know, I cannot give every second of my time to this place anymore.

Independent Film of the Week #3: Bathtub IV

This is a new article series that I would like to start on YDKS Movies called Independent Film of the Week. In this series, I would like to showcase an independent film that I enjoy for all of you to discover. I have been watching a lot of these on Vimeo in the past few days and it has really inspired me to make something new myself other than the Bags and Boards series I have been working on (though don't get me wrong, I'm still going to be making Bags and Boards throughout the summer). 

This third entry is entitled Bathtub IV from director Keith Loutit. It was pointed out to me by my friend Guy. This video is pretty incredible because it is shot with real people and locations but looks like it is made with toy figures. This is made possible by using a tilt shift lens and some time lapse. The result is really incredible.

This video is just one part of Loutit's "Little Sydney" project. To see other entries in the project, go here.

I hope you all enjoy this video as much as I do.

A Trend in My Movies These Days (Part 2)

So, a few days after watching Martian Child, a friend and I decided to watch Lars and the Real Girl (for about the 50th time). Before this time we had never noticed the previews. However, this particular time, we did. In the previews there's a little movie called Music Within. Well, the preview looked amazing. So we did a little renting. On the cover were listed several awards (Audience Award AFI Dallas Int'l Film Festival '07, Star Award AFI Dallas Int'l Film Festival '07, Best of Fest--Palm Springs Int'l Film Festival '07), plus there was a nice cast including Ron Livingston, Hector Elizondo, Rebecca De Mornay, and Michael Sheen.

Here's what I think: A great true event to base a movie around. This is the story of Richard Pimentel and his fight with society and the government to stop looking at people's disabilities while ignoring everything else about them, and start accepting them for the person behind the disability (while gaining employment for the disabled, which was the bigger story of this film).

Now as touching and sappy as all that sounds, this movie was actually pretty funny for the most part. The greatest comedic relief came through the character of Art--a victim of cerebral palsy confined to a wheelchair with a genius IQ and dirty mouth--played by Michael Sheen (whom I was quite impressed with and incidently will be portraying The White Rabbit in Burton's 2010 version of Alice in Wonderland). Eventually Pimentel's work paid off and the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) was passed in 1990.

I also did a little research on director Steven Sawalich, someone I'd never heard of and for good reason. This was his directorial debut and as far as I could find has had nothing since. In an interview with MovieMaker he discusses future projects that, from what I can interpret, will not be a far stretch from this initial film. Overall I think he did a good job with the mood of the film. Nothing was overworked, and things seemed to just kind of fall into place. There was nothing extravagant or amazingly special about this film, but then again it was based on true events so it needed to remain believable.

The one downfall: Ron Livingston. While his stale and apathetic attitude/approach works for his character in Office Space, it didn't quite have the same affect in this movie (probably because there's a real passion in the real-life Richard Pimentel). It's my opinion, and I'm not the only one, that Livingston didn't quite grasp that passion that should be there. On the other hand, Michael Sheen most definitely did.

This isn't one of those movies I'm going to be buying anytime soon, but I'm glad I watched it. Now I can connect this to all those times in Education classes we discussed the ADA, and can also be on the lookout for more Michael Sheen roles to see if I can be equally impressed with him in his past and future work.

And one more thing, perhaps most enjoyable of this film: the soundtrack, which included loads of good music and one-hit wonders. The list is forever long, so just go here to take a look.

Once again, until next time, adieu good sirs.

So G.I. Joe Is Going to Be Unwatchable

There's been a lot going around on the Internet lately about the status of the upcoming G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. It looks terrible and, according to pretty much all counts, it is terrible. But, "How terrible is it, Wesley?" you may be asking. Well, apparently, this "movie" is so awful that hack director Stephen Sommers has been fired from the project and locked out of the editing room.

Here's the original rumor via Filmdrunk:

"After a test screening wherein the film tested the lowest score ever from an audience in the history of Paramount, the executive who pushed for the movie, Brad Weston, had Stephen Sommers, the super hack director fired. Removed. Locked out of the editing room.

Stuart Baird, a renowned “fixer” editor was brought it to try to see if it could be made releasable. Meanwhile producer Lorenzo [di Bonaventura] whose turkey IMAGINE THAT explodes this weekend as the new bomb in theatres (also championed by Weston) was told his services were no longer needed on the film either.

Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner, who turned down other offers from the property to go with the script that was rushed in 8 weeks by Stuart Beattie because of the writer’s strike is frantic that this will destroy the brand and is distancing himself from the pending catastrophe.

NONE of this needed to happen, except someone who did not know the mythology, Lorenzo was in charge of the film and never contradicted Sommers on anything. Lorenzo, was Chairman of Warners and had GI JOE under option there (not as a producer) for SEVEN years and he refused to greenlight the film, stating that because he grew up in Italy he had no knowledge of it. If you google enough, at one point you will see he wanted the film to be about an action hero named MANN (Action Man, get it) and he clearly had no clue what the GI Joe world really was."

Since all this hit the Internet, producer di Bonaventura has fired back, saying that none of it is true. However, many bloggers believe that this is just damage control on di Bonaventura's part. I'm not sure how much of it is true but I do know a few things. First off, Stephen Sommers is a terrible director. The Mummy Returns was bad and Van Helsing was just insulting. I cannot see his vision of G.I. Joe, a nostalgic Saturday morning cartoon from the 80's, being much of an improvement over all the crap he has been churning out beforehand. Second, the movie just looks awful. And I mean awful. Have you guys seen the trailer for this thing? Here, let me repost it here just to jar your memories.

Did you guys watch that? It was was terrible, right? Almost to a sickening level. Regardless of whether this rumor is true or not, this movie is pretty much doomed. I'm pretty convinced that there is no way of savaging it on any level possible. At this point, I'd rather see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen than this. And, as you all I know, I freaking hated Transformers and despise Michael Bay. Still, from the looks of things, those two are better than Stephen Sommers' G.I. Joe.

Source: Filmdrunk

A Trend in My Movies These Days (Part 1)

For a while now I've been without Internet. Finally, earlier this week, I was once again blessed with the convenience of such technology; but have still neglected to post. Finally, I am here to discuss a certain trend I've noticed lately in my viewing of films. (At first I attempted to put it all in one post, but have now decided to split this up into three separate posts... hopefully).

Last Thursday all of my belongings minus my car, my clothes, my Christmas ornaments, and my self was packed into a Penske truck I like to refer to as Uncle Don and moved to the beautiful state of North Carolina. This is where I (along with my car, my clothes, and my Christmas ornaments) will also be moving in August.

Well, let's face it. I'm a girl, therefore I am highly emotional at times. After weeks of packing and cleaning and finally realizing that this whole process of moving was actually happening, I needed therapy. I hate shopping so that whole "retail therapy" thing was completely out of the question. I reverted to the movies.

On Thursday night, after everything was gone and the house I was staying at was devastatingly a void--other than a few belongings that its next tenant will be using--I sat down alone and watched Martian Child. This was one of those I had in a way wanted to see, but didn't really care either way. A few people had told me "Oh, that's definitely an Amanda movie." So I watched it. And for all the stinking emotions boiling inside of me at the moment, it was a perfect movie to cry at. I sobbed like a baby.

Then I watched the extras. I had not realized before viewing this that it had been inspired by true events. Apparently this film is based off a book written by David Gerrald, an award-winning author who decided quite a while back to adopt. After years spent with his adopted son, and story-worthy after story-worthy occurence, Gerrald decided to write a novel based on the unusual relationship between himself and his adopted son. Much of what is seen in the movie, including the imaginative pretending of the boy that he is from the planet Mars, is directly inspired from the relationship of Gerrald and his son. And for some reason, after running high on emotions and low on sleep, I found myself completely entranced by and relating to the message (in my opinion) in this movie: No matter where I am, I will most likely feel out-of-place and "not at home." However, I am confident in the hope that I will run into somebody (no matter which end of the world I am in) that I belong to. Which, by the way, completely contradicts the famous phrase of Holly Golightly in my favorite movie Breakfast At Tiffany's: I'm like cat here, a no-name slob. We belong to nobody, and nobody belongs to us. We don't even belong to each other.

Then again, I am a girl. And I hope.

The trend, therefore, that I have recently and unknowingly subjected myself to is movies inspired by true events. (Oh dear, this could turn into a Lifetime affair quite quickly. I'm sure it won't). Within the next couple days I hope (there's that tricky little word again) to be posting on the other movies of this same fashion I've been viewing lately. And, don't worry, the others have not been viewed on emotions so I didn't quite "relate" to everything.

Until then, adieu good sirs.

The Shutter Island Trailer Just Made Me Wet My Pants

Today the trailer for Martin Scorsese's newest film Shutter Island was released. Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River), the film goes as follows:

“The story follows a U.S. Marshal named Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) who travels to Shutter Island, a small island in Massachusetts’ Outer Harbor, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to find an escaped murderous patient in the Summer of 1954. But nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems. And neither is Teddy Daniels. Is he there to find a missing patient? Or has he been sent to look into rumors of Ashecliffe’s radical approach to psychiatry? The closer Teddy and Chuck get to the truth, the more elusive it becomes, and the more they begin to believe that they may never leave Shutter Island. Because someone is trying to drive them insane."

Holy crap. Now, for anyone who doesn't know me, I'm a Martin Scorsese fan boy through and through. My love for this man and his movies (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas and The Departed just to name a few) is almost to a creepy level. As far as I'm concerned, the man can do no wrong in the realm of filmmaking. 

So, after watching this trailer, I cannot help but be very excited for this movie. It doesn't look like anything Scorsese's done in the past (except maybe for Cape Fear). It not only looks like a very entertaining thriller but an incredibly creepy one as well. Some of the images in this trailer are very surreal and beautiful. I cannot wait to see them on the big screen. Also, it looks like Scorsese is working with a great cast. I'm starting to think DiCaprio can do no wrong these days. Also, I was happy to see good ole' Jackie Earle Haley in there as a creepy-looking character. It's good to see that Watchmen will not be the only big budget flick the guy gets into. 

So, as you can tell, I'm excited. If you're not... well... you shouldn't come here. Really.

Source: Trailer Addict

Independent Film of the Week #2: Last Day Dream

This is a new article series that I would like to start on YDKS Movies called Independent Film of the Week. In this series, I would like to showcase an independent film that I enjoy for all of you to discover. I have been watching a lot of these on Vimeo in the past few days and it has really inspired me to make something new myself other than the Bags and Boards series I have been working on (though don't get me wrong, I'm still going to be making Bags and Boards throughout the summer). 

This second entry is a short film by Chris Milk entitled Last Day Dream. It shows a man's life flashing before his eyes right before he dies. It manages to be kind of beautiful, sad and funny. Also, it features a quick cameo by Pauly Shore. What's better than that?

Watch the short film above and tune next week for another great independent film.

David Carradine Found Dead in Bangkok

Unfortunately, the above title is all that is really all that is known at this time. I am reading lots of reports about natural causes, but I am also seeing some rumors of that he was found hanged. Anyway, what appears to be true is that at 73, David Carradine is another legend gone.

More on this as it becomes available.

Pixar's Up: A Brief Review

Flying high below a rainbow of helium, Up floats above most other adventure movies of the decade. With very deep character development, and even deeper colors, Up manages to precisely blend emotion, laughter, and action into the most tonal picture of the Pixar canon. Pixar once again sets the bar for what an animated film can accomplish, and, in keeping true to the characters of this latest masterpiece, produce films that are applicable to all ages. The first 10 minutes employ one of the most romantic and true sequences in recent film, and throughout the film's entirety, the real life is what gives the adventure aspects breadth. Expect to believe in anything after watching this film, and throw caution to wind once you step out of the dark theater into the light of a new day.

10/10

Twilight Saga: New Moon Trailer- Continuing the Suck

Okay, so here's the deal. I hate Twilight. I guess that may not be a fair statement since I've never actually sat down and read one of the books or watched the movie but I don't care. I hate this freaking series so much. I hate its fans, I hate its messages and I just hate it as an entity. 

So, with that said, one may be asking themselves: why are you posting the new trailer for the upcoming sequel New Moon. Well, I have two reasons:

1. It guarantees my site hits by Twilighter freaks, thus making it look like more people visit this place than they actually do. 

2. The trailer is absolutely hilarious in every way.

Seriously, I haven't seen a movie trailer this bad since... well, the first Twilight movie. What's so bad about it? Well, let's see:

- Emo vampires / people

- An apparently super deep paper cut that causes enough blood to leave Bella's hand that it actually drips on the floor

- Super bad effects

- A black vampire that says he's gonna eat Bella all up (this part killed me inside a little; also, why does she let him get so close to her?)

- An Indian guy without a shirt that jumps into the air, transforming into an awful looking CGI werewolf

God, I hate this movie already.

Sources: Trailer Addict, The Devil

Independent Film of the Week #1: RE: Monday

This is a new article series that I would like to start on YDKS Movies called Independent Film of the Week. In this series, I would like to showcase an independent film that I enjoy for all of you to discover. I have been watching a lot of these on Vimeo in the past few days and it has really inspired me to make something new myself other than the Bags and Boards series I have been working on (though don't get me wrong, I'm still going to be making Bags and Boards throughout the summer). 

The first entry is called RE: Monday and it is written and directed by Adam Burr. The best way to experience this 14 minute film is to just not know anything about it. There wasn't any plot description written on the Vimeo page other than "One rainy afternoon..." and there's a reason for that. For the whole video, you really don't know exactly what's going on and that creates a lot of tension. The experience of just trying to figure it out and guessing what might happen really adds a lot to the work. The film is exceptionally well-made with great writing and directing. The sound design is also quite well-done. 

Just watch it and see what you think. I was impressed.

Tune in next week to see another great independent film. 

Watch Bags and Boards Episode II

So, for those of you that have been wondering ,"Where the hell is Wesley and what has he been doing?", this is the answer. I give you Episode II of Bags and Boards. And yes, you kind of have to watch Episode I to get some of the stuff that happens here. 

In this second episode entitled "The Clone Saga," Steven deals with love problems, Bruce and Brenningworth have theological discussions and a new customer named Conner comes to the store to get advice on how to pick up a "comic book girl."

I'm sorry this has kind of taken me away from this place. But please watch it and hopefully it will make up for all my lost time on here. I promise to revamp in the coming days. I'm going to be doing some reviews for movies I've been watching but haven't talked about on here yet (Star Trek, Terminator Salvation and Drag Me to Hell). So please be patient with me.

Oh and, if I'm not mistaken, it's Bruce Lee Month. More to come.